The present invention has for its object a chairlift that is improved as to its loading station. To do this, each seat, before arriving at the loading station, is oriented to facilitate loading.
The state of the art can be defined by the document FR 2.614.858, which proposes a process for telepherage of the family of chairlifts, using single place seats whose bucket seats are orientable relative to the suspension, whilst the bodyguard tubes remain fixed, thereby permitting facilitating loading and unloading of the passengers whilst ensuring the relative position of the bodyguard relative to the bucket seat for locking this latter when leaving the loading zone. An assembly of guides along the ground in collaboration with a roller, a lug, a sliding pivot, permits stabilizing the seats, oriented the bucket seats and locking the bucket seats.
This type of chairlift, in addition to the fact that it is used only for so-called fixed seats, is impossible to use for seats having more than two sitting locations. Thus, in the loading zone, each seat is presented laterally, which is to say that the back is positioned within the turn of the turnaround.
Moreover, the safety of such an installation is not optimum, the person before loading presenting his back to the seat and said seat moving substantially perpendicularly to the movement of said person who sits on it. There is a risk that this person will not find the seat. The securement of the bodyguard, which is not movable as the seat is, does not facilitate loading either.
Finally, from an economic point of view, the ground of the loading station must be arranged to receive guide means, such as rails, and the pivoting means for the seat must be able to blocked to gain movement of the seats between the departure and arrival stations.
FR 2.236.707: Chairlifts with non-detachable seats spaced along an aerial cable that continuously moves along a closed path, passing to the departure station through a loading emplacement for skiers, comprising an access track and a fixed track which converge with said movement path of the seats at an acute angle to said loading station to permit skiers upon leaving to face in the same direction as the seats that are inserted progressively into the intervals provided between successive seats.
This patent discloses a chairlift that can hardly be used. It is possible to have skiers walk in a straight line, but it is very delicate to have them turn and above all when there are six skiers in line, in this patent, there are described two 30xc2x0 turns and the seat of the chairlift is itself always in a straight line.
EP 0 443 913: The loading zone in the vehicle moving slowly through a station is broken up by means of separator elements into corridors oriented according to the direction forming an acute angle xcex1 with the direction of advance of the vehicle. This arrangement promotes a predetermined boarding by the passengers and leads to an increase in the space required for the vehicles.
This patent discloses a loading dock which forms an S shaped path for the passengers before boarding.
FR 2.692.858: This cable transport installation, of which at least one is a driver and is driven at a constant speed according to a closed loop between two stations and carrying a plurality of vehicles ensuring the transportation properly so-called, comprises at the level of each station an arrival path provided with a device for slowing said vehicles to reduce their speed after uncoupling of the cable or cables, and a departure path provided with a starting device to bring the vehicles to the speed of the cable or cables when they are attached to the latter at the outlet of the station. Each station moreover comprises a linear transfer device for the cabin from the arrival path to the departure path, which transfer is perpendicular relative to the axis of said paths.
This patent discloses an installation with cabins. There are no passengers nor pivoting seats.
FR 1.393.778: The invention has for its object a mechanical raising installation for aerial transport, between a so-called lower station and a so-called upper station for skiers keeping their skis on the feet at least in the outward sense, characterized in that it comprises vehicles with lateral loading and discharging, continuously driven along a guide in the form of a closed loop and in which the skiers are carried with their skis disposed transversely relative to the path of the vehicles.
The present invention has for its object the increase of the flow rate of a chairlift by modifying the position of the seat in the region preceding loading.
This modification consists in a rotation of the seat from an angle which permits the front surface of the seat to approach a parallel to the waiting line of skiers.
This position reduces substantially the phenomenon of xe2x80x9csweepingxe2x80x9d about the curves, which increases with the width of the seat.
To this end, according to a first embodiment, the present invention relates to a loading station for a chairlift for aerial cable transport that is continuously moving, the chairlift comprising several seats, with at least one place for each person, coupled to the cable and regularly spaced so as to be fixed or detachable, at the level of the loading station, relative to said cable, each seat being directed by successive ramps, called arrival, turnaround and departure, the arrival and departure ramps being parallel, the turnaround ramp comprises two turns, called upstream and downstream, separated by a rectilinear transfer ramp, that the line of skiers is in alignment with the departure ramp.
The loading station is characterized by the fact that a loading place is located at the outlet of the down-stream turn, that the angle (xcex1) between the arrival and transfer ramps, corresponding to the upstream turn, is acute and the angle (xcex2) between the transfer and departure ramps, corresponding to the downstream turn, is obtuse.
According to a second embodiment, the drive elements cause each seat to pivot on itself at the level of the transfer ramp before coming alongside.
The drive elements cause the seat to rotate through an angle "PHgr" which permits the front surface of the seat to approach a perpendicular to the line of waiting persons, this position of the seat reducing very substantially the phenomenon of xe2x80x9csweepingxe2x80x9d about the curves, which increases with the width of the seat.
No matter what the embodiment, on the one hand, the angle xcex1 of the upstream turn is comprised between 35 and 55xc2x0, and, on the other hand, the angle xcex2 of the downstream turn is comprised between 125 and 145xc2x0.
More precisely, on the one hand, the angle xcex1 of the upstream turn is 45xc2x0, and, on the other hand, the angle xcex2 of the downstream turn is 135xc2x0.
According to the second embodiment, each seat is pivoted by 20 to 40xc2x0, the front surface of said seat orienting inwardly of the turn formed by the arrival, turning and departure ramps.
More precisely, each seat is pivoted by 30xc2x0, the front surface of said seat orienting toward the interior of the turn formed by the arrival, turnaround and departure ramps.
No matter what the embodiment, between the upstream and downstream turns, on the transfer ramp, the drive elements accelerate the seats.
The ratio between the speed of each seat at the level of the loading station and at the level of the transfer station is proportional to the angle xcex1 or xcex2 of the upstream or downstream turn.
This ratio is:             V      ⁢              xe2x80x83            ⁢      loading              V      ⁢              xe2x80x83            ⁢      transfer        =            cos      ⁢              xe2x80x83            ⁢      α        =          sin      ⁢              xe2x80x83            ⁢      β      
In the case in which the people who wish to board are directed by an endless belt, which moves them toward the embarkation station, the speed of the endless belt is substantially identical to the speed of the turning seats.